The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline

By Nancy Springer

Rating: 4 stars

This is the fifth book in the Enola Holmes mystery series. Enola's latest mystery hits home when her aged, quite deaf landlady, Mrs. Tupper is kidnapped after telling Enola about a frightening visit missive is delivered demanding she give up a message for "the Bird." Who is the Bird? And what message could old Mrs. Tupper possibly have? As Enola does her best to unravel the tidbits of information that her landlady has dropped over time, she realizes that this mystery may involve none other than the infamous Florence Nightingale and the days of the Crimean War! However, just as Enola begins to break ground in this case, she discovers another detective has been called--her own brother, Sherlock. Enola will have to use all of her wits and skills to both solve this crime and evade her well-meaning brother. Fans of the series will eagerly eat up this installment and be eager to follow Enola as she continues solving mysteries in London.

Scat

By Carl Hiaasen

Rating: 4 stars

Mrs. Starch is the toughest biology teacher at the Truman School and Nick and Marta squirm every time they are in class. When she embarrasses class tough kid Duane, also known as "Smoke," he threatens her. Then, while on a field trip in nearby Black Vine Swamp a wildfire breaks out and Mrs. Starch disappears. Then suddenly she leaves a message informing the school that she needs to be away on family business, but no one has actually seen her or talked to her in person. Nick and Marta feel like things don't add up, especially when it turns out that wildfire was actually arson and Duane immediately gets the blame. With Mrs. Starch still missing and Duane on the run, Nick and Marta decide to do some investigating on their own. What really happened to Mrs. Starch? Is Duane responsible? What is really going on in Black Vine Swamp? The pace is good and readers will find the story interesting although they may not fully guess what happened with Mrs. Starch. An enjoyable tale that Hiaasen fans will readily devour.